Question Laptop upgrade compatibility [Dell Inspiron 15 5585] ?

Nov 29, 2022
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So I picked up a refurbished Dell laptop for cheap several years ago and it's still working fine, but I'd like to upgrade my ram and storage. Since it is an older laptop though I just want to double check hardware compatibility before I order anything, just to make sure.

It's a Dell Inspiron 15 5585
AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor with Radeon Vega Mobile Graphics
8 GB RAM
BC501 NVMe SK Hynix 256GB SSD

I'm fairly confident I can swap out my current SSD for a Samsung 980 and just do a clean OS install.
As for the RAM, I found a couple kits on Amazon that might work: PNY 2x16 kit | HP 2x8 kit

I mainly just want to get a couple more eyes to check the compatibility here, but if you have any other suggestions or advice I'd appreciate it.

//Edit: Found some info advising against putting a pcie 4.0 nvme SSD into a laptop -> how about a Samsung 980?
 
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punkncat

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Of the Dell machines I am familiar with over the past few years the 15" and larger are the only ones with serviceable parts even possible. This was a feature I wanted specifically when I picked an Inspiron with the 8th gen Intel. The XPS models come as they are and the small Inspirons seem to as well.

Even at that, the Inspiron I currently have has one soldered 8GB stick and one slot was empty. I picked this one with a HDD, swapped that out to an SSD and added a stick of Crucial to make 16GB. It has an available M.2 slot but I haven't used it since I happened to have some Samsung 840 or 850 SSD on hand already and it was as quick as I need it for work. Been quite happy with it at the price point.
 
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Nov 29, 2022
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You will likely find that only one of the RAM slots is available for you to swap. The one stick is probably soldered in.
Of the Dell machines I am familiar with over the past few years the 15" and larger are the only ones with serviceable parts even possible. This was a feature I wanted specifically when I picked an Inspiron with the 8th gen Intel. The XPS models come as they are and the small Inspirons seem to as well.

Even at that, the Inspiron I currently have has one soldered 8GB stick and one slot was empty. I picked this one with a HDD, swapped that out to an SSD and added a stick of Crucial to make 16GB. It has an available M.2 slot but I haven't used it since I happened to have some Samsung 840 or 850 SSD on hand already and it was as quick as I need it for work. Been quite happy with it at the price point.
Popped the laptop open and the ram is easily removeable.
IMG-20221130-153819105-HDR

Took them out, slotted them back in, no issues.
 
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USAFRet

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There's a BC501 NVMe SK Hynix 256GB SSD installed at the moment
Sk Hynix benchmark
Samsung 980 benchmark
Would the 980 be limited by the hardware?
The 980 and the SK are both PCIe 3.0 devices.
The SK is a "slow" 3.0 drive, as seen in benchmark numbers.

The system hardware will not limit the 980.

But this is like comparing 2 cars...
Car A has an advertised top speed of 140mph
Car B has an advertised top speed of 200mph.

Of COURSE you see Car B as "faster".

0-60, 0-100, 40-70 speeds are basically identical.
And ALL of your driving is on roads of 70mph speed limit or lower.


There is nothing wrong with going for the 980, especially for a big capacity jump.
But don't expect any mind blowing performance difference.
Or ANY difference, that you can see outside of benchmark numbers.
 
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Nov 29, 2022
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The 980 and the SK are both PCIe 3.0 devices.
The SK is a "slow" 3.0 drive, as seen in benchmark numbers.

The system hardware will not limit the 980.

But this is like comparing 2 cars...
Car A has an advertised top speed of 140mph
Car B has an advertised top speed of 200mph.

Of COURSE you see Car B as "faster".

0-60, 0-100, 40-70 speeds are basically identical.
And ALL of your driving is on roads of 70mph speed limit or lower.


There is nothing wrong with going for the 980, especially for a big capacity jump.
But don't expect any mind blowing performance difference.
Or ANY difference, that you can see outside of benchmark numbers.
Thank you for explaining it, I'm just trying to Google my way to the bottom of everything

So as long as the 980 is compatible I'm good to go there, I think the one I've got is on its last legs.

Are any of the ram kits incompatible? I didn't notice anything that would cause a problem, but a second opinion would be great.
 
Nov 29, 2022
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Ok, went ahead and put an order in, just getting files organized for transfer and downloading drivers for clean OS.

Thanks for the advice, hopefully everything goes smoothly.
 
Nov 29, 2022
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Well the ram was a bust, not sure if it's faulty or if there's a compatibility issue there. I've sent a question about it into Dell support, but there's no telling if that will go anywhere.

The ssd is working great though, OS install went smoothly - just need to get all my settings back where I want them.

I'll see if I can find another laptop I can use to test the ram, hopefully it's faulty and I can send it back for a good batch because I can't see any other reason why it wouldn't work.